Servicemen of the Ukrainian National Guard in position in central Kyiv (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

UPDATE, 1710 GMT:

Poland’s Deputy Interior Minister Paweł Szefernaker says 115,000 people have crossed into Poland from Ukraine during the Russian invasion.

The UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi tweeted: “More than 150,000 Ukrainian refugees have now crossed into neighbouring countries, half of them to Poland, and many to Hungary, Moldova, Romania and beyond.”

UPDATE, 1830 GMT:

A total of 2,694 people have been detained in anti-war protests in Russia since Thursday, according to the protest monitoring site OVD-Info.

More than 1,800 people were arrested at rallies on Thursday night in Moscow, St Petersburg, and more than 50 other Russian cities.

At least 1,370 of the arrests have been in Moscow.

UPDATE 1705 GMT:

Russia has restricted access to Facebook and Twitter, and warned Russian media to be careful about its content and analysis.

Justifying its crackdown, Moscow cited Facebook’s limiting of accounts linked to several Kremlin-backed media organizations.

UPDATE 1700 GMT:

An elderly man confronts Russian troops in Melitopol in southeast Ukraine, “Russians invading Ukraine is so fucked up, What are you doing here?…You have your own country and we have ours”:

UPDATE 1645 GMT:

Twenty-seven countries — including the US, European powers, and the UK — have agreed to supply more weapons, medical supplies, and other military aid to Ukraine.

UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace organised the conference call on Friday evening, which also included NATO officials.

US President Joe Biden authorized another $350 million of weapons on Friday. The assistance may include Javelin anti-tank weapons and Stinger missiles, capable of downing aircraft, which have been requested by Ukraine.

Germany has withdrawn its block on transferring lethal weapons in which it has an interest, to allow 400 rocket-propelled grenade launchers from the Netherlands to Ukraine.

UPDATE, 1355 GMT:

European Union members are stepping up support for tough sanctions on Russia, with the prospect of Moscow’s cutoff from the SWIFT financial transactions system.

Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán, who had been close to Vladimir Putin, said Budapest will not block any EU measures.

He said during a visit to the Hungary-Ukraine border, “Hungary made clear that we support all the sanctions, so we will block nothing, so what the prime ministers of the European Union are able to agree, we accept it and we support it.”

Orbán said earlier that he agreed with the SWIFT ban. France, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus have also switched their positions to back the step.

Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said, ahead of a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz:

I came to Berlin to shake the conscience of Germany so that they would finally decide on truly harsh sanctions that will influence the Kremlin’s decisions.

We need to shut down Nord Stream 1 and 2 [gas pipelines from Russia], we need to cut reliance on raw materials, cut off Russian financial institutions from capital markets, confiscate assets of oligarchs, close off SWIFT for Russia….All options should be on the table.

UPDATE 1144 GMT:

Poland’s football team will not play a men’s World Cup qualifier against Russia next month.

The Polish players issued a statement:

It is not an easy decision, but there are more important things in life than football. Our thoughts are with the Ukrainian nation and our friend from the national team, Tomasz Kedziora, who is still in Kiev with his family.

#SolidarnizUkraina #NoWarPlease

UPDATE 1140 GMT:

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Moscow should respond to its expulsion from the 47-nation Council of Europe, whose remit includes human rights, by bringing back the death penalty for “particularly serious crimes”.

,p>Medvedev also indicated Russia should cut diplomatic ties with Western countries and “padlock the embassies”.

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UPDATE 1125 GMT:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has told a press briefing that Government forces still control Kyiv and “key points around the city”, criticizing disinformation.

Please stop those who are lying, or trying to lie to you, or lying to us. We need to stop this war. We can live in peace together, globally as humans.

Our military, our national guard, our national police, our territory defence, special service, nationals of Ukraine, please carry on. We will win. Glory to Ukraine.

He noted Vladimir Putin’s effort to collapse the Government:

The occupiers wanted to set up their puppet in our capital. They didn’t succeed. On our streets, there was a proper fight going on.

The enemy was using all its weapons, artillery, paratroops, all its weapons. They are hitting residential areas, they are trying to destroy energy infrastructure, and everyone should help us to stop this occupation.

Zelenskiy called for Ukraine to become part of the European Union: “Ukrainian people deserve to become members of the EU. And this would be a signal of your support to Ukraine. This discussion should be closed. We discussed this today with the European leaders.

Zelenskiy also sent a message to the Russian people:

I want everyone in Russia to hear me. Everybody. Hundreds of captured soldiers who are here in Ukraine don’t know why they were sent here to kill people or be killed. People need to tell the government why the war has to be stopped, more people from your country will stay alive.

Your nationals are voicing their opposition to this war. We know many people in Russia are shocked now by the brutality of the Russian government, this is the right reaction, I am grateful to this reaction.

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UPDATE 1120 GMT:

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda has asked the Russian people to stop Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine:

Even though much evil has been committed, it’s not too late to stop all of this.

I appeal to you mothers of soldiers who are sent to die in Ukraine. I appeal to you soldiers who are fighting a war for who knows why.

What is the meaning of this war? Only because someone is sitting at a table, drew a piece of land on the map, that he wants to take away? A piece of land that never belonged to him. Does not belong to him. And will never belong to him.

It’s terrifying to see what is going on. It’s terrifying to see women and children die. Churches are being destroyed. What are you fighting for? You are destroying what is sacred to all the Slavs. The cradle of Orthodoxy. Kiev Rus.

Stop. Think about what you’re doing. About what your leaders are doing. It’s not too late, even though much evil has been committed, it’s not too late to stop all of this.

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UPDATE 1100 GMT:

French authorities have intercepted a Russian ship in the English Channel.

The Baltic Leader, transporting cars, is reportedly linked to a company suspected of violating sanctions imposed on Russia over its war in Ukraine.

French officials said the vessel was taken to the port of Boulogne-Sur-Mer in northern France.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia’s three-day offensive is laying siege to Ukraine’s capital Kyiv — but Russian leader Vladimir Putin is angry that Ukrainians have not welcomed their supposed “liberators” and that the Zelenskiy Government has not fallen.

Russian forces are reportedly shelling the capital from multiple directions, striking civilian areas including apartment building as well as infrastructure. Kyiv Mayar Vitali Klitschko said 25 people, including two children, were killed overnight.

Russia’s Defense Ministry also claimed the capture of the city of Melitopol in southeast Ukraine. The advance followed an amphibious landing between the port of Mariupol and Melitopol, which has a population of about 150,000.

However, the claim was disputed by others, including UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey, who said he did “not recognize the reports”. He added that the Russian invasion plan is running “nowhere near to schedule”.

However, there is no sign yet of any support for Putin’s war outside of the Russian-proxy leaders of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” and the “Luhansk People’s Republic” in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr is issuing regular statements of defiance for Ukrainians, assuring that the Government will not flee Kyiv and denying Russian propaganda of the collapse of Ukraine’s military.

Putin was visibly angry when he called on the Ukrainian armed forces to “take power in your own hands”, fuming, “It seems like it will be easier for us to agree with you than this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis.”

The Russian leader’s anxiety may tip off a race between a Russian occupation of most of Ukraine and the expanding international sanctions against him, his inner circle, and the Russian economy.

The Biden Administration confirmed on Thursday that US sanctions will directly target Putin. While the European Union is still divided over Russia’s cutoff from the SWIFT global financial system, its measures now cover most of Russia’s key economic sectors — and there will be Saturday meetings on more steps.

The 47-nation Council of Europe expelled Russia. European football’s Champions League final is being moved from St. Petersburg to Paris, and Formula 1’s Russian Grand Prix will now be held in Turkey.

Eleven of the 15 UN Security Council members supported a binding resolution condemning the Russian invasion, although Moscow’s veto prevented its passage.